News: February 2008

Thief-detecting technology gets Volvo backing

Volvo has invested in a high-tech truck-theft detection system awaiting a patent in Sweden. The truck manufacturer has bought a stake in the company that invented the system, which is based on sensors and radio beacons in sidelights. When someone interferes with a trailer, the sensors are triggered and can send signals to the cab, a central server and even a security company.

Volvo established its interest in the radio technology by buying a stake in another Swedish firm, Datachassi, which developed the system. Per Wessen, investment manager at Volvo Technology Transfer, says: "We foresee huge potential for this invention."

Theft from trucks has proven to be a huge problem in the UK and all over the world. In the European Union alone, goods stolen from trucks each year are valued at £6.1bn, with the number of thefts rising all the time. Volvo says the system can easily be retrofitted and may also have safety benefits because it can warn when pedestrians or other road-users come too close to trucks. David Harris, Commercial Motor

Sneak preview of new Renault Magnum

The updated Renault Magnum is due to be unveiled at the CV show in April, but Brian Weatherley gets a first look - and likes what he sees. Commercial Motor has gained a sneak preview of the latest Renault Magnum, which makes its official debut at the CV Show at the NEC in April. The long-serving French flagship tractor's cab has grown upwards by 20cm, so there is now 2m headroom throughout the truck as you walk around the cabin-and not just under the roof vent. The extra headroom inside is certainly noticeable.

However, the biggest changes are undoubtedly to the Magnum's already impressive storage space. A new rear overhead 'aircraft locker' adds 95 litres of storage space while the revised full-width front overhead locker is positively voluminous, providing up to 260 litres of space and with a large centre locker big enough for a microwave or TV.

But all the previous model's strengths are retained, including the rotating passenger seat (copied on the soon-to-be-launched new Volvo FH), built-in wardrobe and optional 'Multipass' cab layout where the bottom bunk can be converted into table and chairs. The bottom bed's sprung mattress also has more support under major pressure points, including elbows, shoulder and hips, when sleeping. Minor interior changes mean the dirt will not show as much as before.

The biggest surprise, however, AdTech Ad is the new model's build quality, which is on a par with the current Volvo FH's. Examples of the attention to detail in the Magnum include backing mouldings to the overhead locker lids to prevent them flexing and rattling. Brian Weatherley, Commercial Motor

HyWays project supports hydrogen

A scientific project financed by the EU’s research programme has concluded that the introduction of hydrogen into the energy system would reduce the total consumption of oil in road transport by 40% by 2050. This project in particular points out that hydrogen is one of the most realistic options for improving the ecological and economic viability of transport. The HyWays roadmap predicts that in 2030 there will be 16 million cars running on hydrogen, and that the cumulative total investment in infrastructures for this would amount to 60 billion Euros. www.truckeurope.net

Rounding up on digital tachos

The EU has finally addressed the issue of rounding up on digital tachographs, in order to provide equal treatment for drivers involved in frequent-stop or multi-drop operations, regardless of the recording instrument used. A 'tolerance' can now be applied by enforcement bodies - this will last only for the transitional period during which both analogue and digital tachographs coexist.

This transitional tolerance will apply to vehicles involved in frequent-stop or multi-stop journeys and equipped with digital tachographs.

Enforcement officers can allow up to a 15-minute tolerance over a four-and-a-half-hour block of driving time for vehicles involved in frequent-stop or multi-stop journeys, provided such claims can be supported by evidence and do not detract from the proper application of the Drivers' Hours Rules.

For example, a deduction of one minute per driving time block, between stops, with a maximum of 15 minutes per four-and-a-half-hour block of driving time can be applied.

It is good to see this issue addressed, but one vital question remains: what is the definition of frequent- or multi-drop operations? To ensure a consistent approach to enforcement, this must be clearly defined and not left open to interpr-etation by the enforcement bodies or the operator. Karen Crispe, director of Tachodisc. Justin Stanton, Motor Transport

Record 2007 for Renault Trucks

Renault Trucks invoiced 79,857 vehicles in 2007, a record for the French manufacturer. This represents an increase of 1.59% compared to 2006. In France however, there was a drop of 2%, with 29,101 vehicles invoiced against 29,699 the previous year, giving Renault a 32.2% market share. In the rest of Europe the increase reached 16% with 39,974 vehicles invoiced. This is to be seen in the light of a European market which was up by 7% at 422,000 vehicles of over 6 tonnes, the market being largely led by Eastern Europe. www.truckeurope.net

Alcoa's new range of lighter wheels

Operators after the ultimate payload may be interested in a new range of Alcoa aluminium wheels that offer even more lightness than the current models. Weight savings range from 690g at 8.25x19.5" to 1,520g for the largest 22.5x9.00" size. Commercial Motor

Scania and MAN focus on aftersales

As the lead times issue drags on, Scania and MAN have both announced their commitment to improving their aftersales services. Scania aftersales director James Armstrong reveals that the current 70-strong force of mobile engineers will increase to between 80 and 90 by the end of this year. The current force comprises 25 engineers directly employed by Scania and 45 from independent Scania dealers and third parties - all are manufacturer-trained.

The engineers specialise in the repair and maintenance (both at operators' sites or at the roadside) of ancillary equipment, including tail-lifts, shutter doors, air-conditioning systems and fridges. There are now 3,000 trailer parts lines available, all with 12 months' parts and labour warranties. The mobile engineers programme has secured a number of "major wins with blue-chip clients", according to Armstrong, including Ceva Logistics, DHL Exel and ACC (Co-op Retail Logistics).

Scania Parts Direct is now being rolled out nationwide, following a successful trial in the North East. It provides door-to-door delivery of parts and is "designed to be hassle-free". Scania is also looking at how it can offer driver CPC-related training, like Mercedes-Benz (MT, 7 February). Scania has nine driver trainers and four training locations and is developing Driver CPC programmes this year for introduction in 2009. Meanwhile, MAN chief executive Des Evans reveals that this year will be "less about product, and more about service. We AdTech Ad want to help the industry operate more efficiently." Speaking candidly, he adds: "I want to change the perception of our aftersales. We have an ambition to earn ourselves a reputation as the best service provider in the UK transport industry."

MAN has decentralised to a three-region structure (North, Midlands, South). Its network structure has settled at a total of 69 UK outlets (33 truck centres and 36 service centres), run by 29 business partners - the majority of whom are ex-ERF. "The one thing we got from ERF was a fantastic service network," Evans confesses. These totals compare with the pre-restructure figures from three years ago of 149 centres, run by 74 busi-ness partners. MAN is investing £16m in improving branches half of this sum is being spent on a truck and bus centre in Trafford Park, Manchester.

Evans reveals that MAN improved substantially last year against its own service-related benchmarks: MOT first-time pass rate improved from 66% before it introduced the up-time principle to 87% PMI (preventative maintenance inspection) slippage improved from 58% to 83%. Evans says: "We believe we are the only manufacturer that centrally records and acts upon each and every VOR (vehicle off-road) situation in the UK." Evans confirms that MAN is also considering offering Driver CPC training courses. Justin Stanton, Motor Transport

European Parliament debates city tolls

The topic of tariffs for city centres is currently being debated in the European Parliament. The representatives of the mayors of Copenhagen and Warsaw, for example, are complaining about the Parliament coming out against this type of charging, which nevertheless takes place in London and Stockholm. Klaus Bondam, a Danish representative of 'Euro City' set out the works carried out over several years on low emissions zones for urban traffic. Polish representative Jaroslaw Kochaniak declared that the 'city-toll' represented the only way of 'untangling' city centres. www.truckeurope.net

IRU meets Kazakh Minister

On 18 February International Road Transport Union met with Vice Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, Mr. Kuterbekov, and signed an agreement to hold the 5th Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference in Almaty, Kazahkstan, on "The Reopening of the Silk Road: from Vision to Reality". www.iru.org

Stowaways rescued from chemical tanker

Eight illegal immigrants have been rescued from a chemical tanker which was being driven from Germany to the UK. They were discovered when the driver stopped to check his load in Bexley, south-east London, last Friday. The stowaways were experiencing breathing difficulties. Motor Transport

VW announces prices for the Caddy Maxi

Volkswagen has announced prices for its Caddy Maxi, the van which aims to take on Ford's Transit Connect LWB in a head-to-head battle for the small-to-medium sector. Some 470 mm longer than the standard Caddy and sporting a load volume of 4.2 m3, it comes with a payload of 800 kg and two engine options.

The entry-level 103 hp 1.9-litre TDI is £12, 650. That includes remote central locking, a CD tuner, ABS with EBD and traction control, while ESP is an option. VW's acclaimed DSG automatic gearbox is offered for a further £1,400. Moving up a power rating, the 138hp TDI has the same spec and checks in at £14,450. All versions are on sale now. Julian Milnes, Commercial Motor

EU approves 8-country transport cooperation

The European Union has approved a cross-border cooperation programme between Germany, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, the UK, Ireland and Switzerland between 2007 and 2013. This programme aims to promote intelligent and sustainable solutions in the domains of transport and ICT. The programme will require an investment of 178.7 million Euros, half of which will be provided by the EU and the other half by the partners involved. www.truckeurope.net

EU wants Diesel duty raised

The European Parliament's economics committee wants the EU minimum rate of excise duty on diesel raised from E302/1,000lit to the unleaded petrol level of E359/1,000lit by 2015, with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania having until 2016. The existing differential "distorts the market", MEPs say. Commercial Motor

Transport Emission Trading Scheme

Could an 'emissions trading scheme' be the way to reduce CO2 emissions from Europe's truck fleet? That was among the topics discussed at the International Transport Forum. Cutting CO2 emissions from road transport took centre stage during a two-day meeting of experts from Europe and the US at the International Transport Forum (ITF) in Paris. Several possible methods of reducing emissions are already in place. But the scheme expected to become the European standard is an extension of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to trucks, vans and other vehicles.

The EU ETS, which sets quotas for CO2 emissions from heavy industry, is to be extended to include the airline industry, with each EU country setting emissions quotas which are then shared between polluters. Companies that pollute more than their allocation must 'buy' quotas from 'cleaner' firms. The European Commission hopes this system will make it more economical for companies to clean up their act. Whether it could be expanded to include road transport is still under discussion at the EC. This possibility was the subject of a presentation at the ITF by Charles Raux of the Transport Economics Laboratory at the University of Lyon in France.

Raux suggested that if governments decide to tackle CO2 emissions from road users, rather than focusing on vehicle manufacturers or fuel producers, then a system of tradable emission permits would be by far the most AdTech Ad economical way to go. Other systems, based on the weight of vehicles, the distance travelled, or empty running would be "expensive to regulate and inefficient", he said. But Raux stressed that including the freight transport sector in the ETS would not be simple. Hauliers are directly responsible for emissions, as they own the vehicles and control their movements, but the companies they work for are also indirectly concerned, and any quota system would have to look at how this burden could be shared.

He suggested that sharing the cost of emissions could be included in the contractual agreements between hauliers and their clients, but this would probably remain voluntary and part of the wider negotiations between freight operators and their customers. "Hauliers could 'bank' the rights they negotiate on different orders from shippers," Raux told the conference. "If they make efforts to minimise their own fuel consumption, by grouping loads and reducing vehicle-kilometres, for example, they would pocket the difference." As for monitoring companies' use of the quotas allocated to them, he said this would have to take place each time trucks filled up with fuel, using smart cards which are already widely used by hauliers and which would have to be made obligatory. Companies buying fuel in bulk would simply pay their emissions rights at the same time as the fuel supplier's invoice.

The question of taxes was raised by another speaker, Stef Proost of the Centre for Economic Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. He suggested that the best way to reduce road use, and therefore emissions, was to cut taxes on fuel - or CO2 - but add a new tax per kilometre travelled that would vary according to country and vehicle type. This, he claimed, would lead to fewer trucks and cars on the road, with a resulting decrease in emissions. And while the EC is still considering whether the ETS should be extended to cover road transport, there are question marks over whether it would in any case be the best way to reduce road use. "For some goods their value is so high that variations in transport costs will have hardly any influence on distribution practices," Raux pointed out. And he predicted that hauliers would challenge Brussels over the economic impact of such a scheme, arguing that firms outside the EU would not be subject to the same system and could thus undercut European operators without being obliged to reduce their emissions. Chris Jones, Commercial Motor

Germany poised to offer Euro-6 incentives

Confusion reigns at the moment with regard to the possible early incentivisation of Euro-6 by the German authorities. Reports carried by the German trade press suggest the German government will extend the current discount allowed to operators using Euro-5-compliant trucks to Euro-6-compliant vehicles at the point at which Euro-5 becomes a legislative requirement, in October 2009.

Given that Euro-6 is unlikely to be required for new vehicles much prior to 2013 - with universal adoption estimated to be in 2014 - such a move could throw the vehicle manufacturers' product planning into disarray. Whereas the twin-track approach to Euro-4 and 5 - itself precipitated by incentives for early adoption offered within Germany - was manageable by dint of the use of similar technology for both levels, there seems to be near universal agreement that Euro-6 will demand the use of both SCR and EGR.

If this does prove to be the case, truck manufacturers are likely to face a difficult choice. Germany is Europe's largest single truck market, and represents more than 20% of the European plus-16-tonne registrations, and so is difficult to ignore. But early adoption of Euro-6 in non or partially incentivised markets such as the UK would seem unlikely. As such, truck manufacturers may find themselves in a situation in which two entirely different engine types are required simultaneously, an issue that is likely to prove both costly and vexatious. Ollie Dixon, Commercial Motor

EC acts against Austria

The European Commission has instigated infringement procedures against Austria for applying a regulation since the beginning of the year which prevents trucks transporting certain types of merchandise from using a section of the A12 in Tyrol. This law goes against European law, particularly where the free circulation of goods is involved. The Commission also believes that the measure is disproportionate with regard to the benefits gained in air quality. www.truckeurope.net

Growth expected in Eastern logistics markets

The logistics industry in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Russia, is expected to see strong growth over the next five years. This has been shown in the latest ‘CEE Logistics Outlook 2008’ study undertaken by market analysts Datamonitor, who believe that nominal expenses in logistics and storage will increase from today’s 272.3 billion dollars to 369.4 billion by 2012. This growth is due to the expansion of domestic markets and an increase in exports. The economy in this region should see average growth of 5% between 2007 and 2012. The most fruitful sectors will be cars, consumer goods, electronics, retail and telecoms. But efforts will have to be put in to transport infrastructures, especially the railways. New logistics centres are set to develop, outside of the traditional ones which are Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Moscow … The Contracts Logistics market should also evolve rapidly. www.datamonitor.com

Volvo wants help to cut CO2

Volvo Trucks is challenging its hauliers to cut CO2 emissions by 20% within the next two years. The firm says this is part of its climate strategy, which aims at carbon-neutral production. "Our emissions can be rapidly reduced through a number of measures, such as reduced fuel consumption, more efficient logistics, the use of biofuels and the replacement of old vehicles," says Volvo Trucks' boss, Staffan Jufors. www.volvo.com

Actros sales start

The new Mercedes-Benz Actros (3rd generation) can already be ordered. It has undergone 37 modifications, at the levels of operating profitability, comfort, security and design. There is now, for instance, a new totally automated gearbox command (Mercedes Powershift) as standard. Mercedes is the first manufacturer to offer an entirely automated mechanical box as standard on a high tonnage truck. There are 6 categories of power available, from 320 to 598 bhp. The new Actros is also fitted with a level corrector, in order to maintain the horizontal position of the upper comfort couchette. An additional thermostat-controlled air conditioner, optimised steering, a large format pivoting mirror for shaving, a foldable table... these are just some of the other noteworthy items. Then there are two packs of driving aids: Classic Safety and Top Safety. The latter includes all the systems available. Economy Packs are also available (in Germany at first) with circuit breakers, adjustable deflectors and a Voith speed reducer in particular. The new Actros will be presented to the public during the next Hanover show and production will start in July. www.mercedes-benz.be